Iron Age woman was buried with a knife stuck into her grave. Archaeologists aren't sure why

[Still Waters]

Archaeologists in Sweden have discovered an ancient iron pocketknife jabbed into the burial of an Iron Age woman. The cemetery, which dates to between 500 B.C. and 400 A.D., contained at least 50 burials, but this one was particularly unusual.

The people who buried the woman centuries ago "stuck the knife in; we don't know why, but it is clear that it is meant for the woman," Moa Gillberg, an archaeologist at Sweden's National Historical Museums, said in a translated statement.

The burial ground was uncovered in the southern Swedish borough of Pryssgården, about 105 miles (169 kilometers) southwest of Stockholm. Archaeologists were clued into its presence by a late-17th-century text written by the Swedish priest Ericus Hemengius, who was tasked with cataloging ancient cemeteries within his parish. But they were unsure if any of the graves survived into the 21st century.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/iron-age-woman-was-buried-with-a-knife-stuck-into-her-grave-archaeologists-arent-sure-why

[Abramelin]

1 hour ago, Still Waters said:

Archaeologists in Sweden have discovered an ancient iron pocketknife jabbed into the burial of an Iron Age woman. The cemetery, which dates to between 500 B.C. and 400 A.D., contained at least 50 burials, but this one was particularly unusual.

The people who buried the woman centuries ago "stuck the knife in; we don't know why, but it is clear that it is meant for the woman," Moa Gillberg, an archaeologist at Sweden's National Historical Museums, said in a translated statement.

The burial ground was uncovered in the southern Swedish borough of Pryssgården, about 105 miles (169 kilometers) southwest of Stockholm. Archaeologists were clued into its presence by a late-17th-century text written by the Swedish priest Ericus Hemengius, who was tasked with cataloging ancient cemeteries within his parish. But they were unsure if any of the graves survived into the 21st century.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/iron-age-woman-was-buried-with-a-knife-stuck-into-her-grave-archaeologists-arent-sure-why

What was the knife doing there?

Well, I think her handbag has decomposed ages ago. So, they must also go look for a money purse, lipstick, a brick, anti-conception stuff, pepperspray, a pot with body paint, nail clippers, a chocolate bar, a little mirror, a comb, and....and... and...

Edited to add:

Handcuffs. Really. I once knocked over the handbag of a woman I had helped move house, and handcuffs fell out. Oh, and she wasn't working for the police...

Edited November 4 by Abramelin

[Ell]

23 hours ago, Still Waters said:

an ancient iron pocketknife

From this we can deduce that she may have had a pocket.

Uses